Sorry I have been a little quiet here the last two days - I have been busy blaming Giuseppe for our entire season. ;)
Villarreal will be disappointed coming into the match having seen Valencia manage a draw against Barcelona on Saturday, thus grabbing one more point in the race for the Champions League. With the Malaga/Depor draw, they have maintained fifth place, though, and a win in tomorrow's match would still pull them to within two of Valencia and perhaps within three of Sevilla, if the cards fell right. (And, for the record, it feels terrible to hope Madrid wins).
Yet, to expect a win away to a club fighting for survival is a bit much these days - hoping for a win, though, is not too unreasonable. Villarreal won midweek versus Recre, and had the opportunity to win against Valladolid last weekend. These have been much more positive results (or at least slightly so...) than the previous few weeks. We still do not have the confidence that can carry you against the lesser league teams, and need another victory to get closer to that frame of mind. With matches against Sevilla, Barcelona, Madrid, and Valencia on the horizon, a winning mindset is mandatory.
Getafe have lost six of their last eight (although managing a win over as-of-late-meandering Sevilla 0-1), and must be a bit crushed after seeing a sure win against Madrid come crashing down around them with a poorly taken penalty and a goal at the death. They are sitting on 34 points in 16th place, two ahead of hard-charging, salvation-seeking Espanyol in 18th.
Getafe will be without starting central defender Mario, which will be a break for Villarreal. At this point, any potential help to our offense is very needed.
Villarreal will not be able to count on the services of Marcos Senna, Guille Franco, or Santi Cazorla through injury, and Cygan has been left out by Pellegrini's decision. The call includes:
Keepers: Diego López and Viera.
Defenders: Javi Venta, Gonzalo, Fuentes, Godin, Capdevila and Ángel.
Midfielders: Eguren, Mati Fernández, Pires, Ibagaza, Cani, Bruno and Jordi Pablo.
Forwards: Nihat, Rossi and Llorente.
There is not a lot to say about the match other than we can and should win. This is the point in the season that we have to set aside the mental blocks we have been saying and understand that if we do not come through now, there will be no Europe in the fall. No excuses now - ENDAVANT!